Enduring the tedium involved in planting bulbs will be richly rewarded in just a few months The hosts of golden daffodils and clouds of fluttering anemones were spectacular earlier this year, writes Jane Powers
I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY people don't bother more with spring bulbs. Or rather, to be perfectly honest, I can, because the actual planting of the things is one of the tasks that I find boring - probably because there is no evidence of the fruits of one's labour for several months.
Only by constantly reminding myself that nature has packaged into each bulb an entire plant-in-waiting - root, shoot, leaves and flower - can I get to the end of the task. So, if you're a non-bulb person, I sympathise, but I promise you that the few minutes (or hours) spent sticking bulbs into the soil over the next couple of months will repay you with many days of floral excitement in spring. And if you choose bulbs that are likely to perennialise (ones that re-bloom year after year), the rewards will be enduring. In fact, most bulbs, except for some of the large tulips, will reappear each spring, if they like the soil and conditions.
If you are suffering while planting, spare a thought for the people who work at the National Botanic Gardens' Wicklow outpost at Kilmacurragh. They are inserting 26,000 bulbs into the soil during autumn: 16,000 daffodils and a 10,000-strong mixed bag of snakeshead fritillaries, Chionodoxa, Puschkinia and other spring charmers.
These join the 16,000 daffs that were planted last year, and the many thousands of other bulbous plants that have persisted over the previous two centuries. The hosts of golden daffodils and clouds of fluttering anemones were spectacular earlier this year in the historic garden, and will be more than doubly so next spring.
But you don't have to plant bulbs on such a grand scale in order to get the full belt of their beauty - and, indeed, few of us have the space, or the manpower, to indulge in such enviable excess. (And it's worth reminding you here that Kilmacurragh's bulbous superabundance can be freely enjoyed by everyone, as the garden, at Kilbride in Co Wicklow, is open to the public.)
One of the simplest and most appealing ways of having one's own miniature bit of bulb magic is to plant them in pots. Mix some horticultural sand or fine grit into the compost: this prevents the compost from getting waterlogged (and rotting the bulbs), and it also helps to prevent it from becoming bone dry, as each sand or grit particle attracts and retains a fine film of moisture. Leave the pots outside, where they will be gently rained upon, and if we should happen to get a spell of fine winter weather, make sure that the compost doesn't dry out completely. Containers of bulbs can be artistically positioned about the garden when they start to shoot. Put them near the house where you can see them, and do offer them some shelter from stem- snapping winds. Or, for a complete treat, you can bring them indoors: your own home-grown bulbs are much more interesting and satisfying than any pre-potted arrangement you might get from the florist. The warmer temperature inside will make them peak more quickly, so either keep them in a cool hallway or bring them into the balmy living areas only for a special occasion.
It is possible to keep small bulbs going in pots from year to year, but you must feed them after they have finished flowering, to help build up their storage systems again. However, I prefer to plant them out in the garden as soon as the blooms fade and to try out different bulbs in pots each year.
If you're growing an unfamiliar bulb, cultivating it in a container allows you to inspect it from all angles, see what size and shape it is, and then decide where it will do best in the garden next year - if you think it deserves a permanent place.
My favourite bulbs for container culture are the dainty and jewel-like reticulate irises - so called because of the netting-like outer layer on the bulbs. There are many varieties, but they are all petite (about 15cm tall) and precious-looking. These and other diminutive bulbs - including snowdrops, crocuses and species tulips - are well suited to flowerpots, which then obviate the need to get down on hands and knees on the cold spring soil for a spot of close-up adulation.
Miniature irises, crocuses and snowdrops are all early flowerers, and should be planted immediately, as the bulbs start to push out their roots at this time of the year.
Snowdrops have a reputation for not establishing well from autumn planting; the bulbs can sulk if they have been allowed to dry out too much. However, both Mr Middleton and Heritage Bulbs have fresh snowdrops, which should bloom readily.
Larger bulbs also do well in pots, if you give them enough space and keep them watered when they are in growth. Large tulips are dizzily flamboyant when planted this way, but they need very commodious containers.
At the Dillon garden, in Ranelagh, Dublin, painted dustbins make delightfully absurd receptacles for all manner of madly coloured tulips - which are crammed in at the rate of around three dozen per bin.
Most large tulips, as I mentioned earlier, are not repeat bloomers, unless you are prepared to carry out a months-long programme of rehabilitation. They must be lifted after flowering (keeping the different varieties labelled and separate from each other), dried off in an airy place, cleaned of old foliage, and protected from mice and mildew until autumn. Then, after all your hard work, you will probably find that not all of the bulbs will be suitable for replanting: some will be too small and some will be damaged. It's easier and more efficient to just grit your teeth when the plants have finished flowering, and to haul them out of the ground and run as fast as you can for the compost heap. Then, in the autumn, you can give more business to your local bulb supplier.
There are various kinds of tulips, however, that do return each year, and that are suitable for permanent plantings. The small-species varieties will almost always re-bloom, as will most members of the following groups: Darwin Hybrid, Greigii, Kaufmanniana and Fosteriana.
Tulips can be planted any time over the next two to three months (as long as they are stored in a cool place), but don't delay in buying them.
BEST FOR BULBS
Bulbs are available in all garden centres and by mail order from the following Irish companies:
www.irishtimes.com/readeroffers
Mr Middleton Garden Shop, 58 Mary Street, Dublin 1. Tel: 01-8603674; www.mrmiddleton.com
Heritage Bulbs, Tullynally Castle, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath. Tel: 044-9662744; www.wildaboutbulbs.com and www.heritagebulbs.com